Nominated for eight Academy Awards, the blockbuster musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s legendary novel was shot in just 12 weeks. England’s Pinewood Studios, along with grand exterior locations, such as the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, shown here, doubled as the streets of 19th-century Paris. Production designer Eve Stewart (The King’s Speech) transformed the classical grounds of the museum, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, into the setting for the Elephant of the Bastille, a Paris monument designed by Napoléon as a symbol of military prowess. Constructed out of a material similar to Styrofoam, the 40-foot-tall elephant found its way to producer Cameron Mackintosh’s home after filming was over.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Set in the fictional universe of Middle-earth 60 years before The Lord of the Rings takes place, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first of three films adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved children’s novel The Hobbit. Production designer Dan Hennah, who trained as an architect and served as Peter Jackson’s art director on the Rings trilogy, worked with both digital and physical sets on an eight-acre production facility in his native New Zealand while creating the worldscape for Bilbo Baggin’s (Martin Freeman, shown) fantastical journey.Staying true to the book, Hennah fashioned round, portholelike doors within Baggins’s English cottage–style home.

Photo: James Fisher

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

“The main design influence for Rivendell”—the elfin Misty Mountain outpost ruled over by the seated Elrond (Hugo Weaving)—“is the Art Nouveau period, but mixed with elvish ethereal whimsy,” notes Hennah. The patterns carved into the walls of Elrond’s council chamber were meant, the designer explains, to “represent the elfin aesthetic and the delight elves take in their environment.”

Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer, who previously teamed up on Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and Sherlock Holmes, designed more than 100 sets on a theater stage at London’s Shepperton Studios for the latest film version of Tolstoy’s novel—all in an exhausting 12 weeks. Period interiors reflecting Imperial Russia’s high society in the 1870s included everything from ornate drawing rooms to an ice rink to a snow-laden Dr. Zhivago–inspired train station. Shown here is Anna (Keira Knightley) in a highly stylized ball scene. The floor was painted faux marble and, as Greenwood notes, “The ‘scenery’ was representative of formal court architecture, painted in a traditional baroque theatrical manner with wings and false perspective.”

Les Misérables

Armed with a team of more than 200 sculptors, painters, and carpenters, Stewart transformed the tallest soundstage at Pinewood Studios into the crooked streets of the French capital, which are lined with slim angular buildings that provide the backdrop for the revolution. For inspiration, Stewart looked to the works of photographer Charles Marville (who catalogued the city before it was demolished for the Haussmann plan) and painter Eugène Delacroix, etchings and paintings of Paris in the 1800s, as well as New York City’s Flatiron Building.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

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Life of Pi

David Gropman, Production Design
Anna Pinnock, Set Decoration

Based on Yann Martel’s best-selling novel and also nominated for Best Picture, Life of Pi was an extraordinary challenge for production designer David Gropman. The story, which revolves around the tale of a young Indian boy, Pi, who becomes stranded in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, unfolds over three continents and two oceans, requiring the designer to rely heavily on digital imagery. “It might have seemed impossible if not for the advances in 3-D and CGI technology,” says the former theatrical designer. Color played an integral role, Gropman says: “Since a great deal of the film takes place on the open sea, we used white on the outside of the boat, orange on the inside, and blue for the sea and sky. This trinity [of colors] became the palette for the film.”

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

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Life of Pi

Life of Pi was filmed in 18 different locations in India and Taiwan over 20 weeks. The majority of scenes were shot at the Botanical Gardens of Pondicherry, India, constructed by the French in 1826. The lush gardens, spotted with mustard-color buildings, were transformed into Pi’s family’s zoo. “India is such a remarkable, beautiful, and spiritual place, and the gardens fit the description of the story and screenplay,” Gropman says.

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

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Lincoln

Rick Carter, Production Design
Jim Erickson, Set Decoration

Tapped again by director Steven Spielberg (the pair have collaborated on eight films), production designer Rick Carter used his Academy Award–winning talents (Avatar) to create the historical settings for Lincoln. After scouting numerous Civil War sites in the South, Carter selected Richmond, Virginia, as the location for the nation’s capital; sets were built for both the White House and the U.S. House of Representatives. “This cinematic portrait of Lincoln was designed from the inside out,” Carter says. “Every aesthetic choice hopefully resonates with the heart and soul of the man portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis, as written by Tony Kushner, and brought to the screen by Steven Spielberg.” Shown here is Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president walking the corridors of the White House.

Photo: David James

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Lincoln

Lincoln’s White House office was one of Carter’s favorite sets. Battle maps and photographs lined the walls while letters and books covered the desk. Historically accurate hand-screened wallpaper was one of many elements used to support the character and serve as narrative design. Lincoln is seen here with his secretary of state, William Seward (David Strathairn).